Toss A Tune-ie!

Help support out singers in the Nova Scotia Youth Choir and the National Youth Choir.

Announce Toss a Tune-ie at your next rehearsal and help us make this the most successful campaign ever!

Nova Scotia sends three singers to National Youth Choir

NSCF extends its warmest congratulations to our three Nova Scotia singers off to sing at the National Youth Choir this year:

Avery Opalka (Alto), Rachel Lutz (Alto), and Ryan Henwood (Tenor). Some of you may already know Ryan as our Programs Coordinator here at NSCF. He is very excited to be joining the NYC for the second time! Ryan, Avery and Rachel are all past participants in the Nova Scotia Youth Choir and we wish them all the very best on the national stage.

This year, the NYC will be conducted by Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée, with apprentice conductor Thomas Burton, and pianist ​Christopher Gaudreault.

For more information, and a complete list of choristers, visit:

https://www.choralcanada.org/national-youth-choir.html

Digby High C’s Festival Seeks Accompanist

The annual High Cs Choral Weekend in Digby is searching for an accompanist for the weekend of May 15th to 17th to accompany the conductor. Accommodations provided by Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa. Please contact Carol Clayton for more details 902 221 6171

Visit the High C’s Website for more information about the festival.

About the High C’s:

High Cs is sponsored by the Digby Choral Federation.

This festival for choral singers starts in the Digby Pines Spa and Resort on Friday and Saturday and concludes with a mass choir concert on Sunday evening in the gothic Saint Bernard’s church.

All choristers are invited to attend and perform. The weekend includes rehearsals of the mass choir, workshops to improve choral skills, a wine and cheese social Friday in the Grand Lounge of the Pines, and a Conductors Appreciation Banquet Saturday evening.  This fun and challenging weekend, with fine food and warm hospitality concludes with another rehearsal and a mass choir concert Sunday.
Although the majority of choristers come from between Pictou and Yarmouth, singers have come from PEI, New Brunswick, all over Nova Scotia and even Ontario and British Columbia.

Paid Opportunity for Choral Scholars

Seton Cantata Choir currently has openings for paid choral scholars for its 2020 spring season.  Successful candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

1.  Be 16 years or older

2.  Be enrolled in secondary, post-secondary, or taking music instruction

3.  Demonstrate a satisfactory level of musicianship and vocal ability as assessed by the Artistic Director.

Interested candidates may contact Norm Scrimger (scrimger@cs.dal.ca)

Middleton Choral Society seeks Director

From the Middleton Choral Society:

The Middleton Choral Society, a community choir in Middleton, NS for more than 40 years, is seeking a qualified conductor to start in September, 2020.

The choir is accustomed to weekly rehearsals on Wednesday evenings, with concerts in late fall and late spring.
Details, including the honorarium, can be discussed with any expression of interest. If interested, please send contact information with any questions to:
Phyllis Bennett at rib@ns.sympatico.ca or text 902-825-9433 by April 1, 2020.
Thank you.

Audition Prep Day at Dalhousie

From Dalhousie University: Fountain School of the Performing Arts

AUDITION PREP DAY AT DALHOUSIE

Saturday, January 25, 2020

10:00 am-4:00 pm

Dalhousie Arts Centre

6101 University Avenue

Halifax, NS

Free Admission

The Fountain School invites all students who might be interested in working on their audition preparation skills! We are offering a full day of workshops and mock auditions where participants will work closely with our faculty and students on how to prepare an audition for acting and/or music.

We are also offering information sessions for the non-auditioning areas of the school such as: cinema and media studies, musicology, stage design and technical theatre, theatre studies, and costume studies.

If you or someone you know are interested in attending, please REGISTER HERE:

http://bit.ly/34SQepB

 

Singing In Flanders Fields Project

The Acadia University Singers are pleased to announce their upcoming concert tour -The Singing In Flanders Fieldsw Project- to the WWI battlefields of France and Belgium in commemoration of the 105th anniversary of John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields”.

Under the direction of Dr. Michelle Boyd, The Acadia University Singers will travel to Arras, France and then to Ypres, Belgium – the place where the poem was composed – to offer concerts reflecting on the legacy of this iconic poem. The program, titled “Singing in Flanders Fields: Canadian Reflections on War and Remembrance” will feature choral compositions of “In Flanders Fields” and other Remembrance-themed music by Canadian composers – including a brand new version of “In Flanders Fields” by choir member Brandon Zuniga.

The choir will also collaborate with Acadia archivist Wendy Robicheau, whose Adopt-a-Soldier program is bringing back to life the stories of the hundreds of Acadia student soldiers who served in WWI. During the tour, they will visit and sing at the gravesites of some of Acadia’s soldiers buried in France and Belgium, including that of the soldier who the choir will adopt.

-For more information about this project and to donate, visit https://crowdfund.acadiau.ca/flandersfields.
-For sound recordings of the choir visit our Facebook Page The Singing in Flanders Fields Project
-For more information on the content of the project, watch “In Flanders Fields” music (Dr. Michelle Boyd) on the Society for American Music’s Digital Lectures channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZujHheZkag

Join Choirworks in January!

Director, Krista Vincent, and Pianist, Lynette Wahlstrom, are offering choral classes in the beautiful space of First Baptist Halifax. Young singers 7-10 years of age are invited to partipate in the program’s weekly rehearsals and culminating performances. Sessions include ensemble singing, vocal technique, solfege, and music theory, in a welcoming and non-competitive environment. No previous choral experience is necessary. Bring your love of singing and an eagerness to learn!

Important Dates:
Saturday, January 18th 10:15-11:30 am: Family Sing!
Saturday, January 25th 10:15-11:30 am: Choirworks!
Saturday, February 1st– Saturday, June 13th: Regularly Saturday Sessions

Thursday, June 18th 6:30 pm: Choirworks Concert at First Baptist Halifax

For information on registration and cost, please contact Krista Vincent at choirworkshalifax@gmail.com

Job Posting: Associate Professor, Choral Studies, Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting

(From the University of Toronto: For FULL POSTING, visit:
Deadline:
March 16, 2020, Open until filled
Associate Professor / Professor – Choral Studies – Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting  1905335

The Faculty of Music, University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in the area of choral studies and choral conducting. The appointment will be at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor  with an anticipated start date of January 1, 2021. The start date is negotiable. The successful candidate will be eligible to hold the endowed Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting.

A doctoral degree in music, or a university degree in music with extensive exceptional professional experience is required. Applicants must have extensive experience in choral studies and choral conducting with a demonstrated record of excellence in teaching and a superior professional conducting profile.


Excellence in creative professional activities and research is required, evidenced by a track record of performances for major venues, organizations, and festivals, collaborations with established artists and ensembles, public presence through broadcasts, recordings, and digital media platforms, recognition through critical reception, academic and professional publications, and arts grant support. The successful candidate will also have demonstrated commitment to choral education in a wide range of styles and repertoire and an excellent track record in conducting education as demonstrated by the teaching dossier including a teaching statement, sample course materials, and teaching evaluations submitted as part of the application, as well as strong letters of reference.

Salary and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Duties will include some combination of conducting one or more of the university choral ensembles and overseeing all Faculty of Music choral activities; teaching undergraduate and graduate music courses in choral music and conducting, which includes individual conducting lessons; research supervision and mentoring of conducting students at the masters and doctoral levels; and leadership in community choral engagement and collaborations.

The Faculty of Music is a division of the University of Toronto, Canada’s largest university. Located in the heart of one of North America’s most diverse and culturally vibrant cities, the Faculty of Music plays a vital part in Toronto’s active musical life and offers degrees in composition, music education, music and health sciences, music technology and digital media, musicology/ethnomusicology/music theory, and performance, including jazz and opera. There are approximately 900 students, 570 undergraduate and 330 graduate students. The Choral Area currently includes four choirs involving approximately 200 music majors.

All qualified candidates are invited to apply by clicking on the link below. Applications must include a cover letter, a complete and current curriculum vitae, a teaching dossier (including a statement of teaching philosophy, sample course materials, and teaching evaluations), a statement outlining current and future research interests, and links to samples of your work including rehearsal and concert videos. All application materials must be submitted online.

Submission guidelines can be found at http://uoft.me/how-to-apply . We recommend combining attached documents into two or three files in PDF/MS Word format. Links to media files should be provided on a separate list. If you have any questions about this position please contact Prof. Don McLean at dean.music@utoronto.ca.

Applicants must also arrange to have three letters of reference, printed on letterhead, signed, and sent directly to the search committee: Prof. Don McLean, Search Committee Chair and Dean, Faculty of Music, at dean.music@utoronto.ca by the closing date of March 16, 2020.

Review of applications will begin on March 16, 2020. Applicants should endeavor to have all materials, including reference letters, submitted by then; however applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

For more information about the Faculty of Music, please visit our home page at http://www.music.utoronto.ca.

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP .

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Announcing: The Nova Scotia Choral Federation’s Young Composer’s Competition!

The Nova Scotia Choral Federation is proud to announce our 4th Nova Scotia Choral Federation Young Composer’s Competition! Hosted in conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir (NSYC), the winning composition will receive three premiere performances by the NSYC, conducted by Nova Scotia conductor Christina Murray.

The competition will be judged by a jury of Nova Scotian choral conductors and composers. All competing composers will receive constructive written feedback from jurors.

This year, Guest Conductor Christina Murray has selected two poems to be used as the basis for the composition; Sharon Blackie’s “Peregrina” from If Women Rose Rooted or Shannon Webb-Campbell’s “See How Low the Moon Hangs” from I Am a Body of Land.  See below for the full text of each poem and biographies of each of the poets.

The composition competition applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 30. In addition to the premiere performances by the NSYC, led by Christina Murray. The winner will also receive a monetary prize of $1,200.

The entry deadline is April 1st, 2020.

Click here to read the Competition Regulations and Application Guidelines